MARVEL SUPER ACTION 1 PAGE 5 (WEIRDWORLD) BY MIKE PLOOG

This is a gorgeous Weirdworld page by co-creator Mike Ploog (with Doug Moench) from the initial short story called “An Ugly Mirror on Weirdworld”.

(so, yes, for all you first appearance… … … enthusiasts (?), that would make this a first birthish appearance page whose historical meaning in worldwide comics and monetary value must be that of a small nation ?)

The page is bigger than usual from that period which is a definite plus to enjoy but more than anything, it presents in my view the purest Ploog’s art has ever produced on the series. He drew three stories for it before moving on, this first one which he pencilled and inked, a second inked by the overpowering inks of Alex Nino (for a very interesting combination), especially as he is credited for breakdowns only and a third and final one on which P.C.Russell inked him. Nino and Russell are giant artists in their own right, bit I find there is nothing like Ploog doing it all.

And just look how great a stylist and storyteller he is here! Fantastic fluid cartooning and superb use of washes.

In the first panel, we have an establishing shot of Tyndall going on with his quest. Great use of light and shadows in here as I absolutely love how Ploog used values in the washes to have his shadow cover part of the stones.

The second panel is amazing at have you feeling like you are crossing under that cascade with the hero. You really feel all that water coming down on him with his crouched stance.

Then a verrrrrrrry ominous inside of the cavern shot with the carven walls closing in on him.

Finally, we get a very splashy open panel of the Leviathan rising out of the water on Tyndall whose fear and surprise is nicely rendered. Before he regains his composure and shot the beast in its eye. To be honest, that’s the part I like the less as it’s a bit gory and anything like this happening to even fictional animals, I really dislike, especially when we get to see the gruesome wound on the fallen beast in that last part. It does help that Tyndall seems to be experiencing some sort of remorse looking back at his foe. As you will have noticed, the composition of that panel by Ploog masterfully leads the reader’s eye to the bottom right corner of the page.

This moment is also defining in that the Leviathan being slain by Tyndall will be referred to several times over the course of the series.

Now it seems that Weirdworld was a big success for Marvel but that sparse publishing history kind of shot it in the leg. I read it all for the first time last year and there is no denying that if it were not a blatant try from Marvel to tap into the Lord of Rings’ territory and success, a very benevolent read of the project would have you consider that it was at the very least tapping into the Fantasy zeitgeist of the era.

All things considered, with artists like Ploog, Russell, Nino, John Buscema (whose art is sometimes even convincingly airbrushed), Rudy Nebres, Marie Severin (and to a lesser extent) Pat Broderick, you are in for a visual threat if you seek out the Marvel tpb compiling it all.

This is part 4 of my 2026 CAF birthday party.